Johnny Kono’s Bar & Grill

Here's Johnny!

"These are our homemade popovers."

"Old School."

"I gotta keep these young guys on the straight and narrow."

"I'm having fun.  If it wasn't fun I'd never do it."

And here is Johnny's five star dive bar.

Located in Weymouth, Johnny Kono's Bar & Grill is the brainchild of owner John Perette, a lifer in the hospitality industry and a lover of the Florida Keys.

"I went to Key West in 1979 and fell in love with the island and have been going back ever since.  This is bringing the islands to Weymouth. It's a five star dive bar. It's a funky laid back type of bar.  It's more of a Key West vibe, really laid back and tropical and get a lot of stuff on the walls and people want things people can look at.  What they have in Weymouth and they walk through the door. It's a different experience."

And the menu is deliciously different as well.

"I've been in this business a long time. And basically all the restaurants have the same and what we do is we bring it to a new level and we come up with creative things. "

In fact, the menu itself is can be overwhelming, with creative dishes you may have never tried, like the Pillow Pie- a pizza which eats more like a loaded potato, layered with mashed potatoes, cheddar and bacon.  And for even more satisfying spuds, order the tots.

"These these unique.   We use shredded potatoes, bacon, cheddar cheese, eggs, cayenne pepper, a little bit of garlic. We mix them all together, and we form them into a round ball. And then we fry them.  They come out there beautiful golden brown.  You get an explosion of flavors, especially with the chipotle ketchup. It's got to be beautiful background. But the bacon, the cheddar cheese. The potato it's it's just awesome."

Just as awesome are the fresh stuffed quahogs.

"We make them here. And we had a lot of chorizo. They're chunky they have a lot of different flavors in em.  And you know, the stuff with clams and scallops and shrimp and crab meat.   And it goes over really well."

And you'll want to tunnel your way into Johnny Kono's for a taste of the El Chapo Wings.

"El Chapo wings. We actually got this recipe from Key West.   You get a little bit of cumin, you get a little bit of Latin flavors. Little bit of lemony in there. So it's good little bit of saltiness.   It gives you a real Carribbean-y flavor. It's really good."

The specials at Johnny Konos are truly special.   Take for instance, the Brussel Sprout appetizer.   Coated with parmesan cheese, honey mustard and balsamic and topped with pepperoni, this starter may sound strange, but it has customers coming back for more.

"It's craziest combination of flavors that we have.   When we when we first came up with that, we actually had to force people to try it.  So we told people if you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it. We never took one back."

Then there are the popovers, baked fresh and stuffed with whatever the kitchen comes up with.

"People just love the popovers and we brought it to a new level of taking just a pop over and stuffing it with all kinds of crazy stuff. Like we have the seafood Newburgh which has the rice in the pop over the seafood Newburgh over it and grilled shrimp and grilled scallops over that.   You get to seafood. You get the creaminess of the lobster bisque of the Newburgh. And in the little hint of that Sherry in the background.  It has a wow factor to it. It really does.”

When it comes to entrees, Johnny has something for everyone.  There are juicy steak tips served on a bed of grilled vegetables and a seafood spin on a Reuben, with fried cod smothered in thousand island, sauerkraut and Swiss.  But if you ask Johnny, he'll tell you to get the Mahi Tacos loaded up with fresh mango, napa cabbage and a key lime sriracha for a flavor explosion in your mouth.

"You get the seasoned mahi.   You get the Napa cabbage. you get the fresh mango in the cilantro.  And on top of that, you're getting the key lime sriracha on the bottom and the top.  So you're getting a bunch of these flavors.  It's very tasty."

There are over the top burgers, like the Gronkonator.

"The Gronkonator is named after Rob Gronkowski.    We have an eight ounce burger. We have your choice of cheese on it, pastrami, bacon, onions, sauteed onions and then we put a fried on your ring on the top.    It's big. And it's it's a lot of food and he's a lot of man.  I'm sure that Gronk would have a hard time finishing it. It's a big sandwich."

And for a big value, get the Louis Lunch Burger.  Coming in at five bucks, this simple but satisfying burger is topped with cheese and served on bread with a bag of chips for the ultimate meal deal.

"We want to have these guys come in at lunch and not break the bank.   This is very very simple.  It's $5 and we serve it with a bag of chips and we sell a ton of them."

And if that deal doesn't impress your accountant, the $15 pitcher and pizza deal most definitely will.

"I designed this place after place that I like to go, I don't want my my wallet to come out empty, and I want a good value for my for my money, I want a great food. And we did that. And you know, I've always had this philosophy, if I couldn't give somebody the best value, the best food at a good price and a good quality. I won't open. And we've done that."

And with oversized portions, and an undersized bill, both you and your wallet will feel full, when you leave Johnny Konos.